Rumour: Mother 3 Will Be Unveiled for the Switch VC at the Switch Reveal Next Week

Never understood the excitement around this. I've played Earthbound, and it was alright, but I wouldn't lose any sleep if this game never made it out of Japan. Why the hype then, is it way better than Earthbound or something?

Switch VC, but not Wii U.

Seems pretty damn illogical at this point but time will tell.

@Jingo_Unchained I'll probably pick it up. I think this is a pretty reasonable rumour; if Nintendo went to the trouble of localising the first one, I don't see why they'd pass this one, which seems to be more in demand.

It's hard to dispute LKD because of her stellar reputation but I have trouble buying this. There have been plenty of Mother 3 rumors over the years that never amounted to anything.

If these rumors are true, then it seems Nintendo is finally starting to listen to its fans.

I can't wait. Switch VC sounds like it's gonna be the best ever conceived.

Typed this on my Xbox One controller chatpad for my PC hooked up to my TV. Guess I dont need a keyboard or mouse at all anymore

@wiggleronacid And that's exactly what I find hard to believe. That would be a monumental shift in Nintendo's philosophy.

This would be a system seller for some people, the mother fan base is a dedicated one. It would probably encourage some people to at least look at the Switch too. I would buy it instantly if it was on Wii U, but it won't make me buy a Switch.

Ehh... I'm not that big of a fan of the series but I guess I'd buy Mother 3 anyway since I already have bought the first two games. The only Virtual Console confirmation I need is for Gamecube games.

Hmm, doesn't feel like a reveal anymore. Feels more like it's going to be a confirmation or refutation of rumours

Mother 3 is great, but the hype for this long rumoured VC release is unjustified. If you want to play it that much you would have done by now.

@JHDK They translated Earthbound Beginnings, right? It's rare, but they do occasionally listen!

@MitchVogel I believe Earthbound Beginnings is just the release of the original translation that Nintendo of America abandoned, so it's not like much effort went into it.

So many rumors about this game I'll not going to believe anything unless it's official.

That is true, EarthBound Beginnings was just the translation wrote for the NES in 1991 but didn't release.

@MitchVogel
The first one was already localized but never got released in the US because of the SNES being released so Nintendo didn't really have to do any work in translating it since it was already done just got scrapped at the last minute.

@MitchVogel It just seems to me that no matter how much we beg for various things Nintendo as a whole usually just tells us what we should like instead of giving us what we already know we will like and either it works (Wii) or not (Wii U).

This ties in great! About 16 hours ago I made a video for youtube discussing if he switch was a great time for companies to port across previously officially untranslated games. With the main focus being Secret of Mana 2 and Mother 3. Got to use Earthbound Beginnings as a great example too!

Tl:dr
Everyone should translate old games for the VC!

Far too late for me to care. Good for those that waited patiently, though.

Eh would rather have a collection of the Mother games.

OMG! the switch can run this? FOR REALS? this game needs 999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999 GB's of memory and can't run on the best PC so that means it wouldn't be able to run on a 3DS or Wii U!...why are they so lazy to localize and release more VC games?

Why U no listen Nintendo?

@Undead_terror
Lol yes we can all breathe a sigh of relief knowing that the switch is powerful enough to run GBA games. Maybe it's the only thing they could get vr to work for??

@MitchVogel It actually took no trouble to translate the first one. They completely translated it in 1990, but cancelled the release. We basically just got a release of a prototype.

Looks like this is getting SWITCHED over... nyeh heh heh. Whatever the case, I'll wait until January 12th to get REAL information, not RUMORS.

Technically Mother 3 is on the Wii U Virtual Console already though. Couldn't this just mean Japan is also getting it on the Switch?

@Fbigabig
You needed to type in Japanese 😉

i can tell you this is not a rumor, its being planned for switch, it has been for over half a year now.
thats all i can say

Mother 3 announced at a Direct? When have i heard this before... The hype is gone for this one. Too little too late, Nintendo. It will probably be censored too, and exclusive to Switch, oh goody.

If true, Lucas' chances of being in future Smash games just went up a bunch!

January 12th better hurry up and get here before everything gets leaked.

Although I have no doubt that Mother 3 will be coming to Switch, it's hardly a selling point is it? The only people who'll be excited by this are pretty much going to be die-hard Nintendo fans, who'd be picking up a Switch at launch day anyway.

It's presence in next week's Switch video will hopefully be filler at best.

@ogo79 You've said too much already

@Loui
indeed i have

Wasn't this a game that was supposed to be on the Wii U VC? It was you know. We got screwed so many times and in so many ways with that console(I think the game released in Japan on the Wii U VC).

Fingers crossed!!!

Figures. Finally rerelease Earthbound in hope it gets folks buying a Wii U and Mother 3 to get you to buy a Switch.

Big question is what will they call it outside of Japan? Earthbound 2 or something along the lines of Earthbound Beginnings?

It's definitely coming to the rare downloads program.

Awesome .

I really hope this is true. I'm playing through Earthbound for the first time right now and I'm nearly done. I'm willing to emulate Mother 3 if I have to but I prefer to play the official release and support the games.

@MitchVogel You're in the minority if you think Earthbound is just "alright." Earthbound is a magnificent RPG with immense charm and enjoyability.

It's natural that any sequel to a game so good would be highly sought after.

The fan translated version is probably a better way to experience it than the over-localised/ censored version Nintendo will give us.

I'm more worried about storage at this point really. 32GB is almost non existent. I think you'd have trouble fitting an HD game on that tiny bit of storage. It just doesn't make sense to me. I always buy physical copies of games but it seems indies would be at a loss. If you've got nowhere to store digital games you might never buy any.

@whanvee I imagine the specs and storage capacity would force devs to actually compress their games. Halo 5, Gears 4, Doom, Elder Scrolls Online, and pretty much every yearly release take up at least 50 GB with no logical reason most of the time. Storage was only ever a problem for me before with the PSP since I stuffed everything on there and I only had a 2 GB Memory Stick.

@JubilifeRival I imagine I am, but I can't for the life of me figure out the hype. I mean, the modern setting is cool and I like the quirky humour, but nothing about it stuck out to me as something I'd be willing to replay.

@MitchVogel i dont get the excitement over the Earthbound franchise either. I have both Earthbound Beginnings and Earthbound on the Virtual Console. I've played them both and don't see what is so great about either of them.

If this is true. It took them long enough. Jeez Nintendo

Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't show up. I've since accepted the idea that Nintendo doesn't care a single bit about MOTHER 3. I've lost hope...

Why would Nintendo ignore 12 million Wii U users?

@Juma009 You've answered your own question, it's because there is only 12 million Wii U users.

If they put all the attention into the Switch and it is able to make that number in a year, then of course the Wii U will be left in the dust.

@MitchVogel Something else that I really enjoyed besides what the two of us mentioned is the unique health system in combat. Well, at least unique when it came out (I'm not sure if it has been replicated since.)

There's something really satisfying when your health meter is spinning down and then you rush to finish the turn so you can reverse it and heal up.

Other small touches like that make gameplay so satisfying. Like the teleportation feature where Ness gains speed before zooming off to a new place... there are so many fun little features in addition to the two that I already mentioned.

All those fun features combine with everything that makes an RPG good, an enjoyable plot, and quirky and fun characters/situations. This culmination is the beautiful game that is Earthbound.

Hopefully this will shut up the people in every Nintendo video "WHEN'S MOTHER 3 COMING OUT?"

I'll believe it when I see it.

It would be a damn shame if Earthbound 3 never appears on Wii U VC.

I can't see them announcing this at the Switch reveal next week. It will be too focused on features and big day one games. There may be a virtual console piece to the announcement but that will be focused on their big franchises with a little montage. It would be too busy to bury the announcement. That's my thoughts anyway.

@Dakt @yuwarite Yeah but you need an official Japanese cartridge to play it and they go for near double the price of the standard GBA VC pricing and then you need a method to dump it from its cartridge onto the computer to apply the patch to it.

A VC release would be the best way to legitimately play the game in English.

Only a decade late if this is true. I bought one of the translated GBA carts from eBay a few years ago, it works great and the translation seems top notch. I'm sure lots of people did this meaning money not going to Nintendo. Their fault really.

I may still buy the VC release if this is true. Show Nintendo there's a market for things like this, and it will be the official translation from Nintendo.

@ogo79 U Mad? How will this affect "rare downloads" profits? This rumor is definitely true and accurate, so you better start selling them while you can!

Lot's of GBA games on the Switch please!

@Dr_Lugae Play it now by whatever means works for you. But when the game is officially localised, purchase that version to show support for the developers.

Honestly what makes anything Laura Kate say gospel? She could probably say Switch has 20 Terraflops and people would believe it.

@MitchVogel

The first time I played Earthbound I had the same conclusion. Even through all the charm and pure amazingness, I just didnt think (and still dont) that Earthbound was the best thing I'd ever experienced.

However, Mother 3 instantly shot to my #1 favorite spot when I first played it 8 years ago, and it's still there, even beating Majoras Mask, which is #2 with The Last of us bringing up 3rd.

If you like Earthbound but didnt love it, you owe it to yourself to play Mother 3. It's just that much better.

They'll have to edit some of the graphics and dialog. I've been playing the English translation patch on my GBA Everdrive X5 and there is a blackface scene early in the game. I was almost shocked they got away with this, even in Japan. That would be a big no-no to release it as is in the United States.

Either way, I 100% support an official translation and release stateside.

Strange sense of de ja vu...

I want a NEW Earthbound/Mother for the Switch.

I first learnt of Mother 3 from Smash Bros Brawl's New Pork City stage. I've never played Earthbound properly but Mother 3 has always caught my attention much more. Apparently it's better, too.

I'm happy playing it on my GBA, but if it does get a translation on the Switch, I'll be getting it straight away. It'll be nice to play Mother 3 on my Tv without having to get my GameCube and Game Boy Player out too.

Nice! Now Nintendo can C&D the 'Mother 4' fan-game four days before it launches, as well.

I'll try to learn Japanese if this game gets censored.

This is a cool rumor, the coolest thing about the switch so far as I'll be playing Zelda on my wii u.

Would like to hear more about the games soon so a VC release isn't the coolest thing about a new system.

GBA VC for Switch CONFIRMED.

...

@wiggleronacid I think Nintendo is listening to its fans since 2-3 years.... and they have been holding their cards for the Nintendo Switch. If I'm right, January 12th should be a fan's orgasm. (hope so !)

Is it really that easy to become popular on Twitter?

Yes, why not - the more the merrier - but Undertale releasing at launch for Nintendo's Switch would imo be a far, far more considered item.

Nintendo spits on Wii U owners faces once again. All this disrespect is one of the reasons I will not buy Switch day one. I do not belive them anymore. Ill get Switch only after new Zelda game release (not Zelda U).

everyone seems to be going crazy over a switch vc.hmm

Again, I'll believe it when I see it. Also, she didn't say for Western VC.

@Dakt Exactly. I played Mother 3 a few months ago and it was glorious. The fan translation is amazing.

There are pretty obvious reasons why Nintendo might object to bringing the game to the West, though. The game is thematically very dark; a whole chapter of the game basically involves repeated physical and psychological torture of an animal.

Not to mention the references to alcohol and the inclusion (quite brilliantly, I might add) of characters that are quite clearly implied to be transgender.

I love the game for its daring characterisation and openness to challenging themes, but these are likely problems for a company that is still very parochial in its treatment of the Western market.

Oh yeah, I forgot the whole reveal thing is happening next week.

I'm not a fan of the Mother series, but one thing I absolutely will give Mother 3 props for is its soundtrack, it's really good.

@MitchVogel It's waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better than Earthbound. It has a much deeper and unique story and the battling mechanics are more involved and fun rather than just being a chore to fight enemies. you can land combo attacks by timing your attacks to specific enemy rhythms and the whole hp clock thing goes down slower allowing you to actually use healing items rather than just having someone in your party die. Also, the game's not at that weird isometric angle that Earthbound was so the game looks and feels more real.

Laura you need to change your profile shot, i'm getting bored of that one. Or is it the incessant reporting by NL of everything this woman says!! Why bother coming here when I could just follow a couple of people on twitter and find out what you will have reported on.

I would love to see a remake with some switch graphics online play etc

I cant wait for this to be wrong. Just so I can say: "Yeah, she knew nothing all along and was just messing with the lot of you because she could." Though at the same time, getting Mother 3 would be a pretty good deal - so I don't even mind if she turns out correct.

@rushiosan How is it illogical to put a game on VC for your new console and not your old one?

Tweets don't count as news Nintendolife. Maybe I should send a Tweet saying "Advance Wars: Dual Switch Q2 2017. Will be announced 1st April event." Maybe Nintendolife will be silly enough to mention it on their website.

I should tweet that to her!

I don't count my chickens before they hatch.

Will it even matter if she turns out to be right or not? You'll still continue to parrot her every minute somewhat-kinda-maybe-legit post regardless.

@MitchVogel it's very subjective, a question of tastes I guess, I personnaly love Earthbound and the Mother Serie (for me, they are wonderful games with a lot of layers and phylosophy, and the serie is one of the proof that Iwata was a real genius IMO)

I got it on the JPN WiiU VC so I'm good, but hey good luck!

You know what... after reading some of the comments here, I can see why Nintendo haven't bothered to release it. It's only interesting to a minority and a lot of them are butt hurt. It won't sell many copies or consoles so why go to the trouble.

@YouSeemFRAZZLED Not unlike the fan translation for Cave Story. I enjoyed Nicalis' translation, but I guess some people prefer that Balrog exclaims "Huzzah!" instead of "Oh yeah!"

@TruenoGT Switch bait, or bait & switch?

Too little too late, Nintendo. Again.

I believe it when I see it. Personally I hope they won't spend to many minutes on old games. Games that should have already been on western Nintendo consoles yearrrrrrrrrrs ago!!

Wow, these rumors are really starting to fly. I'll have to play the first two titles that are buried in my library before I even think about getting this one.

@gizmoto It would be worth it. Mother 3 is not the only game that's censored in the West.

@MitchVogel It's very simple:

Best form of marketing

@eeyore Are you serious? Nintendo owes you nothing. They didn't force you to buy it. The Wii U is dead, so why would they continue supporting it and not their new console? The Switch needs every possible advantage it can get if it's going to succeed.

The last couple years I've had the feeling they were listening, but thought they had to slog out of the Wii U generation before they could deliver, hopefully with a more popular platform to sell software on.

It shouldn't be that hard or expensive to release this on Wii U and Switch. Wait and see I guess.

I’m just hoping Star Fox Zero gets a more universally acceptable Switch remaster so that sequels might continue...sigh.

@eeyore Well if you're waiting for more Wii U stuff, you'll get cold and lonely. It's time to Switch

@TheLZdragon Yes, I know, Wii U is dead. But more VC games like Mother 3 (that is already exist in Japanese eShop) could make a nice goodbye kiss from Nintendo to Wii U owners. But they decide to target everything to Switch. Come on, its a VC release, not a big deal for new console. They have to push Switch with new releases, not old games.

@MitchVogel
How dare you. lol
But actually, I've played Earthbound and LOVE IT. Just sold my complete in the box copy last year. Got it on Wii U VC to play again and again........ and I also don't care that much about this one. That said, for fans who have longed for it, this is awesome and GREAT press and gives me hope for other japanese exclusives from bygone eras.

@Tsurii All IIRC, the main Mother 3 translator was Clyde Mandalin (sp?), who had been prominent at Starman.net, currently curates the long-running Legends of Localization, and is a professional translator to boot.

I'm feeling burned on the implication this is Switch-exclusive, but I would love to see then announce this for Wii U to tie it to a Cross-Buy/Backwards Compatibility initiative, such that all NNID-based Virtual console purchases will grant you the Switch copies at no extra charge (or, more cynically, buy Mother 3 before launch to get it free for Switch; afterwards, standard $2 or whatever price if owned on a last-gen system).

@FriedSquid
oh ive already took care of that dude.
on rare downloads ive got it going for 49.99
got to stall on nintendo

Quirky Depression RPG comes to America! I might pick it up just so I don't feel bad about letting the release sink later. I can't see it selling well, since the franchise is basically built on love-it/hate-it quirkiness. It would be wild if this and Beginnings were leading up to a new game though, wouldn't it?

Personally, I had trouble playing Earthbound due to the archaic menu system. I'm afraid to play Earthbound Beginnings because it is even older, and I couldn't get the hang of Mother 3's background music combo system. The whole series vexes me.

Let's see...

Wii: Europe gets Super Mario RPG.
Wii U: Europe gets EarthBound (also on 3DS), Drill Dozer, while Donkey Kong 64 skips the Wii and is Wii U-only.
Switch: the West (officially at least) gets Mother 3.

Noticing a pattern here? Past games should not be released only because of a threshold.

So much hype for a poo old GBA game and yet most don't care about the Switch not getting games like RDR2 and Mass Effect Andromeda...

Hard to get Nintendo Fans like these, lol

If this is true then it just means their one thing people can cross off their wants list.

If this is true, it would be a crap move on Nintendos part. I bought everything earthbound related on wii u and would hope it would end on wii u.

Please let this be true. I would buy the Nintendo Switch for sure if it happened.

Seriously, it is the last game I want.

I've come from the future to say 'no'.

@Fandabidozi's right, you know. The future still says 'no'.

@kincl4 @Fandabidozi I’ve come from even farther in the future to say that this article/rumor aged terribly!

@MH4 You made an under-the-weather Kincl smile! And for that you have my thanks. Oh if you like Mother/EarthBound/Mother 3, check out hyperplayrpg.com

Just sayin' 😀

cc @Fandabidozi

I've come from even even further from the future and it is still a 'no' unfortunately...

Yeah.
Yeah, that happened
The fan made Mother 4 also seems MIA

The fact that this didn't happen proves we live in the wrong timeline.

This, Gamecube games, and Virtual Console was... A BIG FAT LIE spoon-fed by LKD; the BUTT QUEEN.